City of Highland Park Business Recovery Grant Program
The City has established a new grant program to assist eligible businesses in recovering costs related to the impact of the Fourth of July Parade shooting and subsequent investigation. To allow the City and law enforcement agencies to complete the field investigation and site repair, businesses located within a designated perimeter were required to close for owner, employee, and customer access from July 4 – July 10, 2022. Businesses that were unable to operate during this time may be eligible to apply for a grant to help offset revenue losses during the closure. The submission deadline for the City’s grant is August 19, 2022. Learn more and download the application at cityhpil.com/businessrecoverygrants.Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loans
Governor JB Pritzker announced that the State’s request for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster declaration was granted for several counties in Northeast Illinois that were affected by the shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. The declaration will make low-interest working capital loans from the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) program available to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations whose ordinary and necessary financial obligations cannot be met as a direct result of the incident. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period for those in Lake County (Illinois), Cook County (Illinois), McHenry County (Illinois), and the contiguous Kenosha County (Wisconsin).
The SBA Business Recovery Center (BRC) will be located at First Bank of Highland Park,1835 First Street in Highland Park. Customer service representatives will be available at the BRC to answer questions about the disaster loan program and to help business owners complete their applications. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the SBA has established protocols to help protect the health and safety of the public. All visitors to the BRC are encouraged to wear a face mask.
BRC hours of operation:
Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
The site will close permanently on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s and should apply under SBA declaration #17536, not for the COVID-19 incident.
Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or emailing DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications may be downloaded at sba.gov/disaster.
Completed applications should be returned to the center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The filing deadline to return EIDL applications is April 25, 2023.
Business Recovery Fund
As part of City-wide recovery and resilience efforts, a Business Recovery Fund has been established with First Bank of Highland Park, Highland Park Bank & Trust, the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Highland Park/Highwood taking the lead in fundraising and disbursing monetary assistance to aid businesses and employees in recovery from losses sustained. The Highland Park Chamber of Commerce is gathering information in order to assess the extent of the financial need, and accepting applications for financial assistance.
If you are a business owner or employee that has suffered financial loss because of being closed, physical damage, loss of wages, loss of inventory, etc., please click the link below to fill out the application. Your input is essential. All information will be kept confidential and used solely to identify need.
Please be aware that this is separate from the City's program but can work in conjunction with it. Recovery Funds will be used for supplemental grants to the businesses affected and any residual funds will be used for the betterment of our HP business community.
Applications are due by Friday, August 5, 2022, at 5 PM. Access the application here.
Additional information about the state’s recovery efforts are available at https://www2.illinois.gov/ready/Pages/default.aspx.